Of Men And Angels
by KatyBirthdai
Summary: When the animals start mutating into dangerous creatures called "Pokémon", Angela befriends a baby Oshawott and must decide whether to assume a new identity and leave the comfort of her hometown for the sake of her friend, or to abandon him to conform with society. Based off of a Nuzlocke of Pokémon Black that I did.
1. Dem Rules (A Wild Author Appears!)

Here, since OshawottStream already guessed, these are the Nuzlocke rules I'm playing by:

1) One catch per route.  
1A) I must catch the first Pokémon I encounter, unless:  
1Aa) It is a DUPE. If it is, I must kill it and retry until I get a non-dupe.  
1Aa1) A dupe is any Pokémon I own that lives.  
1B) I may catch any shinies I find, but if it isn't my first catch, I can't use it.  
2) If a Pokémon faints, it is DEAD. It shall be permaboxed to remind me of my failure.  
2A) If all the Pokémon on my active team faint, then the run is over.  
3) If a Pokémon is boxed, it is either dead or permanently off the team, and cannot be used again.  
3A) If a Pokémon has been taken off the team but is not dead, it still counts as a Pokémon I own.  
4) I may not take my starter off my active team.  
4A) If my starter dies, then the run is over.  
5) Gifts, trades or whatever count as the catch for that area  
6) All Pokémon must be named according to the theme.

Thank you all, you are all lovely people, please continue reading . I know I'm not the most consistent updater but I try my best! I just have other things going on... And gimme feedback! Tell me if you like it, dislike it, what you like/dislike, whether I'm completely hopeless or the best evar, whatever! I just like hearing from people 3 Faves and follows will be rewarded with cookies!


	2. Sachiel, Angel of Water

When I was little, the first Pokémon were discovered. Savage little beasts that looked like mutated animals, they would attack people on sight. At first they were a myth in our snug little village, then one day a huge dragon/dinosaur/horse/mustachioed water... thing attacked our village. I was about thirteen at the time, and when I heard the crashing, I rushed out of my house and saw it coming towards me, and I was frozen with fear. My mother screamed at me to run, and I did, blindly and on the wings of primal fear. That... thing TOWERED over me, but soon I heard the sounds of its decimation of its surroundings fade away... but when I looked around, my surroundings were wholly unfamiliar. I heard a rustling in the brush as something came towards me, and I curled up into a ball, eyes closed tight, shaking and waiting for the inevitable. Then, I felt a little paw on my knee, my eyes popped open, and I was face-to-snout with a little mutant otter. I squeaked and backed up, scared it was going to hurt me. It walked away, then stopped looking back at me. After I didn't move, he came back, poked me, and started walking away, stopped, looked back at me, and came back again. This time he tugged on my shirt and pointed. "Do you want me to follow you?" I asked, timidly. It nodded vigorously, smiling and tugging. I got up and followed it.

We had been walking for a while, the little thing bounding forward then pausing and making sure I was still following, then running forward again, when it gave an agonized cry and took off. "Wait!" I yelled as I ran after it.

I saw it run up to that... thing that had been attacking the town, keening like its life was ending. The thing stirred and feebly licked the little one- and somehow I knew that the thing was the little one's mother. The thing then gave one last shuddering breath... and never moved again.

The little one ran, keening, to me and hugged my leg, burying its face in it. I picked it up and snuggled it against my shoulder- it wasn't its fault that its mother had attacked my town- and followed the path of destruction that its mother had made that, I knew, had to lead back to my home.

I had to keep it safe and take care of it, because it was so little, but I knew that my mother would never approve. So I kept it in my room until it was to big for that, my own little pet. I found out that "it" was a he, and decided to name him Sachiel... because he looked like a little otter.

Sachiel was always there for me. He and I ran in the woods to school, he, protecting me from savage Pokémon, which got more and more numerous with each passing year, and I giving him little treats and playing with him. He'd wait in the woods for school to end, then we'd run through the woods back home. He was always somewhere near me, if not next to me then hidden just out of sight in the woods. He protected me, and I took care of him, and we were the best of friends for five years.

I was eighteen and preparing to set out on my own when Pokémon attacked our village. I came home from a friend's house in Accumula to find the town in chaos, people being attacked and overcome. My mother told me to run, but I couldn't. Not when my town was in danger. I put my fingers to my lips and let loose a piercing whistle, and Sachiel popped out of the forest, ready for action. We fought our way toward my mom, and as we did so, the Pokémon seemed to understand that I was one human that they couldn't touch, and started giving Sachiel and I a wide berth. I came up to my mom and said, "Mom, come on, we need to go!" but she refused to move, staring wide eyed at me, then Sachiel, then me again. I reached for her arm to drag her away, but she tugged her arm out of my grip, and just kept _staring,_ disbelief written all over her face. I tried and tried but I couldn't get her to move.

Suddenly all was quiet, and I heard a distress squeak from Sachiel, and I spun to see that the Pokémon were gone, chased or killed off by the other people, who had now surrounded my mother, me and the only other Pokémon left. It was clear they were going to kill him, too, unless I interfered.

I stepped forward, hearing shuffling behind me, and scooped up Sachiel in my arms, _knowing_ how hurt he was. I glanced behind me, and saw that my mom had been taken back to our house by someone and the circle had closed in on us.

"Hand that thing over." Said Professor Juniper. "You shouldn't be holding it, it could attack you at any minute. Just give it here and no one will be hurt."

"And what are you going to do with him, hmm? He'll be hurt, don't bother denying it, and I can't let you hurt him."

Juniper's face went stony, then she smiled over-sweetly. "I see. Well, don't worry, just come with us and everything will be fine."

She tried to take my arm, but I yanked away. "I'm eighteen, Juniper, I'm not an idiot. You think I've gone wild or some shit like that, well you're wrong! I've been taking care of Sachiel for five years now, ever since he was just a baby. It's not his fault Pokémon are attacking the town, he hasn't attacked anyone ever, I made sure of that much at least! In fact, he's been defending me when I needed it, so you can't just kill him..."

"It's a Pokémon. It's feral. They can't be tamed, trust me, there's some very influential people who have tried over and over again. Just hand it over, it'll all be over soon..."

"Sachiel's not an it, he's a he, and he has a name." I noticed that the people around me were edging closer, slowly, like they would approach a feral cat or something. I carefully reached in my pocket and pulled out a handful of berries, which I had noticed would perk Sachiel up when he ate them, like they were healing him or something. I held them out to him and he wriggled around and ate them all in one fell swoop.

A good thing he did, because the people surrounding me made their move then. They piled toward me and Sachiel jumped down, tripping people left and right, making a path for us to safely get out and away into the forest.

That night I snuck into my house much the same way I used to sneak out to see Sachiel once he got too big to safely keep in my room: through the window, which was almost always open for just such a purpose. I grabbed some stuff I'd need: clothes, running shoes, supplies, and first aid stuff. I wrote a note to my mom telling her I was sorry... and I genuinely meant it, because I'd never wanted this to happen. I grabbed a baseball cap, a blue and black one I'd never worn, and left the same way I'd come.

Sachiel led me to the cave where he'd made his home recently, and there I bandaged my breasts down, changed out of the skirt and the other frilly things that would make my life impractical, and into jeans, a t-shirt and a dark grey hoodie, zipped up. My hair, my beautiful, long brown hair, I cut off, favoring a shorter, boyish cut. As I looked into the pool just outside the cave after washing my makeup off, a boy looked back at me, as much a stranger to me as the situation I was in was. I smiled, just a little, and went to get some sleep, curled up with Sachiel for warmth.


	3. Engelbert, Bright as an Angel

**A/N: Hey, I have a follower! Welcome, OshawottStream! Just for you, here's chapter two a little earlier than I had intended to put it out :)**

The next day I started making my way towards Accumula, befriending a little rat thing along the way, who I named Engelbert. I was almost in Accumula when my phone started ringing. I glanced to my right: Sachiel and Engelbert were safely hidden away and were waiting for me to go into town before making their way to the exit I would be using, there to rejoin me, and thus remaining out of sight of anyone who didn't need to know about them. I would've liked to have kept them with me, just to make sure they were safe, but there wasn't any way to do that and keep them out of sight. Thus, I had to hope and pray they'd be safe as I entered the city and glanced at my phone. It looked like Juniper was calling me, probably to persuade me back. I walked into a deserted alley, leaned against a wall, and answered. "Hello, Professor."

"Oh, thank goodness, you're still alive." The professor's voice came out of the speakers. "Where are you? Your mother's been worried sick. If you like, I can pick you up-"

"No, that will only make matters worse. Or did you think I forgot yesterday? There's nothing left for me back there, and going back will only make matters worse. Tell my mother she can call me if she likes, but I'm not coming back. Oh, and I'm not going to answer the phone if you call me again, Professor. I've gone too far now for me to believe you'd try to do anything but hinder me."

I ended the call, sighed, and walked towards the nearest grocery store. I'd be needing food if I was going to do this.

A while later, I left the store with a full backpack and a feeling of satisfaction, until I overheard someone telling a friend that something was going on in the plaza. Feeling curious, I made my way over there, joining the crowd that had formed in front of the orator, who began speaking just as I arrived.

"My name is Ghestis. I am here representing Team Plasma." he paused to let that sink in. "Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokémon." Murmurs ran through the crowd at the mention, but Ghestis persisted. "I'm sure most of you believe that Pokémon are rabid beasts that are incapable of rational thought or even docility, and whose only goal is to eradicate any human it comes across. However... is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we only assume that this is the truth? Pokémon are animals just like any other... subject to the same needs as others... and perhaps, even capable of the same co-operation and domestication as any other animal. Can anyone with confidence say that there is no possibility of truth in what I'm saying? Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokémon are, in fact, different from any other animal. They are beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans may learn much. Tell me, what should be our response toward these wonderful beings called Pokémon?"

The crowd murmured, confused. "We must befriend and domesticate the Pokémon!" Ghestis said. "Then, and only then, will the attacks on people stop." He paused. "Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider a relationship between people and Pokémon... one of co-operation and peace. We sincerely appreciate your attention." He and his guards then turned, and left.

"What absolute bollocks." Said a young man standing next to me. "You were pretty involved in the speech, though. What do you think?"

"I... think it has merit." I responded.

He took a closer look at me. "You're a devil's advocate. I like you. My name's Cheren" he said, pushing his glasses up his nose with one hand and offering me the other.

"Leigh" I responded, shaking his hand.

"Alright, well, I've got to go. Maybe we'll see each other again soon." he said.

"Yeah, maybe." I said. He nodded and left, and I turned and made my way towards the next route.

I stepped off the path and into the woods, kneeling as Sachiel and Engelbert ran up to me, sqeaking with joy. As I knelt there, petting them and praising them, a voice behind me said, "Those Pokémon..."

I jumped and spun, standing up to face the stranger.

"Just now, they were saying..."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, adrenaline coursing through my system.

"Oh. Then, you can't hear it, either... How sad." He was tall, thin and all angles, reminding one a little bit of a stork, and from the awkward air he had about him, he wasn't a social person. His hair was worn long and pulled into a ponytail, and he wore a white collared shirt, open at the neck, and grey jeans. When I looked down, I noticed that he was absentmindedly scratching behind a catlike Pokémon's ears. Sachiel came around and held his arms up to me, bouncing, like a toddler wanting to be picked up. I offered him a half-smile and obliged, and he climbed up to ride on my shoulders. I turned back to the stranger, and saw he was now holding the Pokémon and was smiling. He said, "My name is N."

"Mine's Leigh." I said, still a little wary.

"So, what are you planning to do with those little friends of yours?" he asked. "I can hear what they're saying, but I can't help but wonder... what you're trying to do."

"I don't really know. I haven't really gotten that far yet." I said, awkwardly. Engelbert climbed up my back to stand on my shoulder, using my head to balance himself. Sachiel had climbed back down to nestle in my arms as I petted him.

He put the Pokémon he was holding down, and held out his hands. "Leigh, right? May I?"

I nodded and warily let Sachiel climb over to him. They conversed for a minute, which, of course, I couldn't understand, then N handed Sachiel back to me. "I've never heard a Pokémon say things like that about anyone but me..." he said, looking at me in wonder. I tried not to flush as I reached down, carefully so that Engelbert could balance himself, and put Sachiel back on the ground. "As long as that persists... Pokémon will continue to attack humans, and the result will be disastrous for one or both species. I have to change the world for Pokémon, because they're my friends..." He trailed off, and cocked his head like he was listening to something. Then he turned back to me. "I hear my father calling me, so I must go. It's been a pleasure talking to someone who sees Pokémon like I do." He turned, and with his little friend, plunged through the brush, back towards the path.

I'd only gone a few steps towards the next town when my phone started vibrating. I took it out and looked at it: it was my mother. I sighed, then accepted the call.

"Angela, is that you?"

"Yes, I'm here, mom."

"Oh, sweetie, I've been worried sick about you! What are you thinking, running off like that, you could get killed-"

"Mom..." I cut her off. "I won't get killed. I have Sachiel and Engelbert here to protect me." I mumbled.

"Are those friends of yours? You haven't mentioned them before..."

"Yeah, they are. And I met Engelbert recently, but I've been friends with Sachiel for years." I bent down and petted them both, smiling.

"Well... if you say you're okay, I suppose that'll have to be enough. You're eighteen, after all, a woman grown and you need to make your own place in the world without your mother holding you up." I could tell she was on the verge of sad/proud tears, and I hated the fact that I was lying to her. "Well, I'm sure you don't want to spend all day talking to me, so I'll leave you to it. But, sweetie?"

"Yes, mom?"

"Come and see me every so often, please. And maybe bring your friends along? I'd like to meet them..."

"Okay, mom. I promise... you'll meet them someday." I responded.

"I love you, sweetie. Now go on and do what you do." she said.

"I love you too, mom. Bye." I said, and hung up.


	4. Nathaniel, Angel of Fire

I journeyed through the forest, carefully avoiding humans but encountering several Pokémon along the way, which Engelbert and Sachel made short work of. We met one of those catlike Pokémon that N had been with, and I named her Malayeka. She spent most of the rest of the walk to Striaton trying to trip me by weaving figure-eights around my legs.

I had just stepped out onto the pathway just outside of Striaton when a young woman bumped into me. "Oops! Sorry!" she exclaimed. "I wasn't watching where I was going!"

"'s okay." I mumbled, nonchalantly.

"What were you doing in the woods, anyway? It's dangerous out there!"

"I thought I saw something shiny, and it wasn't too far into the woods, so I checked it out. I was mistaken, though. It turns out it was nothing after all." I responded easily, chuckling a bit. That was one of the answers I had come up with to answer that very question, and I felt quite proud of myself when it worked flawlessly.

"OHH! Well that's understandable! Oh, my name's Bianca! What's yours?"

"Leigh." I answered and extended a hand. She took it, and said, "Well, I have to run- I've got a date in Striaton- see you later!" And with that, she took off, leaving me smiling and shaking my head. It felt good to smile.

I walked into Striaton, noticing how alone I felt without my friends at my side. I went and replenished my supplies at the store, then wandered around for a while, snacking on an apple and just getting the feel of the town. I had been here before- this was where I'd gone to school, after all- but I hadn't really paid attention to the town before. After finishing my apple and throwing away the core, I shrugged and walked into my old school.

The inside was very school-like: blank white cinderblock walls with some posters here and there, trying to make something totally impersonal more homey. I walked to the end of a hallway and peeked into the art classroom to see if my old art teacher was there. She wasn't there, but someone else glanced up from the book he was reading to see who had intruded. I started to leave, mumbling an apology, but the stranger asked, "Leigh? What are you doing here?"

I turned back and took in the not-so-unknown face and said, "Hello, Cheren. I was in town and used to go to school here, so I came to see if the art teacher was in."

He laughed. "She left a while ago to go get something to eat. So what brings you to Striaton?"

I shrugged. "Trying to find a job."

He considered this. "Well, with your opinions I would've thought that you'd have joined Team Plasma."

I chuckled at that thought. "I said they had a point, not that they were right." I corrected.

"Oh, good." he countered jovially. "If you had joined, I might've had to arrest you"

"You what." I said flatly.

He chuckled a little. "I'm a member of the Regional Police. I'm surprised you didn't notice." I wanted to bang my head against a very large, very solid object very slowly as I spotted the cliché shiny badge that all police officers seemed to wear.

"Oh." was my only response. "...So, Team Plasma has been officially outlawed?"

"Mmmyep." He said, adjusting his glasses and making them flash. "A few people tried to 'befriend the Pokémon' like Plasma was saying to and got attacked by some Plasma grunts last week, and it's a pattern that's continuing so far in vastly different places, so we know it's not just a few isolated grunts. So the higher-ups outlawed the entire group." He chuckled, then said, "But you don't want to listen to me ramble. Maybe we'll talk later, okay?"

I merely nodded, then left the building, eager to go somewhere, anywhere that didn't have people anywhere near it.

I walked into a fenced-in and secluded area, overgrown and untended; it looked like it had once been a park of some description, but had been abandoned. I walked in and it took all of three seconds to figure out why as one of those cat-things lunged for my face. I whistled and Engelbert came rushing out, intercepting the cat-thing and knocking it backwards. Then Sachiel popped out of the undergrowth and attacked it, killing it in seconds. The sound of caterwauling assailed my ears and I turned around to find Malayeka entangled with another cat-thing. Sachiel snuck up behind it whilst Malayeka distracted it and finished it off, too.

Three rats that looked like Engelbert jumped at me, and Sachiel, Malayeka and Engelbert took one each to attack and finish off.

I heard a cry and saw a boy, looking at me and then at the brush, looking frightened. I began to walk over to him, motioning to my friends to stay put, but he ran for the entrance to the park, dodging around me and my Pokémon and looking like the devil himself was after him. I looked back at the brush he had been looking at,just as it burst into flames. I had Sachiel douse the fire before it spread, and then peered into the charred hole it had made. I pulled back fast as a soaked fire-monkey came rushing out, looking like it was spoiling for a fight. It skidded to a halt, looked at me, questioningly, then ran over to my friends, chattering loudly. Then it cautiously approached me.

"Do you want to come with me, little guy?" I asked. It nodded at me. "Okay then, let me see... I think I'll call you Nathaniel." It chattered happily when I said the name, so I assumed he liked it. "Alright then, I think I'll go-"

"You'll be going nowhere, mister, except jail."


	5. Malayeka, Angel

Three guys came at me, with clear intent to arrest me and take away my friends. I was frozen in shock, but luckily for me, my Pokémon had no such problems. Engelbert jumped up on one guy's face, working with Sachiel to try and trip him up- I had specifically told them before I had ever entered a town that if we got into a situation like this, to _knock them out or disable them, do not kill them._ The guy roared and flung Engelbert off his face, making the rat fly through the air to hit a tree trunk with a thump and crumple, motionless, on the ground. That snapped me out of my shock; I ran over and hurriedly checked his vital signs. He was alive, but badly hurt. I gave him some of those berries to make him feel better. When I turned back to the action, the first guy had been tripped and was lying unconscious on the ground, and the second looked to have been knocked out by a good old-fashioned knock on the noggin, and from the scorched hair I could smell, I had a pretty good idea of whose fault that was. The third was currently doubled over and choking from having a jet of water directed in his face as Malayeka made a flying leap into his rear, knocking him over and making him see stars. I thought I was going to make a clean getaway when another person blocked my path.

"I see I'll have to arrest you myself. I won't be gotten rid of by a few party tricks." He said, reaching out to grab me.

He yanked his arm back with a yell as Malayeka lept up and caught it with her claws, allowing gravity to help her make ten vertical slashes in his arm. Then Sachiel jumped up to ride his shoulders, paws grabbing onto hunks of hair as the man flailed about, trying to get the water otter off. Sachiel moved his paws to cover the man's eyes as best he could as Nathaniel darted towards his legs from behind.

Nathaniel collided full-force with the man's legs, which, of course, made him fall ass-first onto the ground. Sachiel jumped clear just before momentum caused the guy's head to crack into the ground, knocking him out, if only briefly.

"Woods, NOW!" I directed my friends, and they scampered into the undergrowth at an amazing pace as I sprinted to the exit to the park.

Once I had the gate closed behind me, I forced myself to proceed at a more sedate pace out of the city so as not to draw attention. Once clear, I turned to go into the forest, seeing the undergrowth rustling and flashes of brown, red, blue and purple as my Pokémon rushed back to me.

"Hi, Leigh! What're you doing?"

I jumped. "N-nothing." I said, motioning my friends back farther into the forest. "Gosh, Bianca, you startled me!"

"Hey, do you hear a sound coming from the other side of that wall? Come on! Let's go see!" she grabbed my arm and began hauling me towards whatever it was that had caught her interest.

"Bianca, I don't really have the time for this-" I protested, but before I could shake loose from her, she'd pulled me into an abandoned building. "Bianca, I don't think we should be here." I said, warningly, but it was too late and we stood staring at a small purpley-pink... I couldn't even think of what it could have mutated from.

It moved away from us, and Bianca chased after it. "Oh! Wait!" I followed her, grumbling under my breath, but then a voice cut through the semi-darkness.

"We found you, Munna!"

"Oh look, it's Team Plasdorks." I murmured.

"Come on! Come on! Make some Dream Mist!" They said, crowding around the thing which was apparently called a Munna. The Munna made a distressed noise and curled up further into a ball. I was seriously about to call my friends and absolutely decimate these Plasdorks, then Bianca spoke up.

"Huh? Who are you?! What are you doing?"

"Are you talking about us? We're Team Plasma, bitch! We battle day and night to protect Pokémon from foolish humans who want to kill them!"

"What are we doing? The Pokémon called Munna and Musharna emit a mysterious vapor called Dream Mist, which shows people's dreams. We're going to use that to make people want to treat Pokémon like friends... We'll show them dreams to manipulate their hearts."

One of them started kicking the poor thing. It let out a pitiful cry of distress. It tore at my heart, but with Bianca there, there was almost nothing I could do.

"You're kicking a Pokémon to make it give off Dream Mist? That's mean! Why? You guys advocate not hurting Pokémon, right?"

"That's right. We love Pokémon, but we're fighting for the freedom and friendship of all Pokémon. You know, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?"

"One or two hurt Pokémon won't matter if we secure the happiness of them all! But, we can't have you two going and telling the authorities, so! We're going to use our Pokémon to silence you!"

"Whaaat! Don't hurt Leigh!" Bianca yelled.

"Bianca, I'll be fine." I muttered. Behind the Plasdork lurked a rat thing like Engelbert that, at his cry of "Patrat, go!" lunged at me, murder in its eyes. I put two fingers to my lips and let out a piercing whistle and Malayeka came pouncing out of the brush, bristling and hissing, to intercept it before it got to me. The two rolled off to the side, a flurry of purple, brown, claws, teeth, and snarls. I looked up and had to control my laughter at the Plasdork, who was staring at me, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Then something hit my leg, biting it painfully. I yelped and looked down. The rat-thing had latched onto my leg and seemed intent on ripping part of my leg off. I looked over to where they had been fighting and saw Malayeka, still and unmoving, her throat torn out.

I almost forgot about the rat-thing as it was knocked off my leg and across the yard by a firey fist to lay unmoving and crumpled on the floor as its "owner" berated it for being useless. I was too busy running over to kneel next to the dying felinic creature, tears leaking out of my eyes and running down my cheeks.

_I don't regret having chosen to come with you..._

My eyes widened as I looked into the slit-pupiled eyes that were intently staring at me. Somehow, I _knew_ it was she who was talking to me.

_Go on... teach these people their mistakes... make me proud..._

I broke down, face buried in my hands as I sobbed silently.

_You gave me a name... A purpose... _

_Love you..._

She was gone.


	6. Ramiel, Angel of Thunder

I looked up, absolute murder in my eyes, as the other Plasma smirked and sent her cat-thing after me, with a cry of "Purrloin, go!"

Nathaniel turned from the carnage of the other Plasma's rat and narrowed his eyes. With a scream, he ran at the thing, punching it and sending it flying, fur crisped and smoking where he had made contact. He ran after it and continued punching it, screeching the entire time. Then he stepped back, picked up the thing and dragged it over to me. It was very dead, and barely recognizeable because of the burns all over it. He dropped it, and looked up at me sadly, putting a paw on my knee. I hugged him, then stood, Bianca all but forgotten, to face the two now-defenseless Plasma members.

"...I can't believe we lost." the Plasma member said.

"I can't believe that she has Pokémon!" the other berated him. "We still need the dream mist and now we have no way of getting it, asshole!"

The Plasma guy kicked the Munna again. "Arceus dammit." he cursed. "Come on, make the- hrk!" He exclaimed as Nathaniel tackled him to the ground.

"Nathaniel, _don't kill him._" I commanded. Nathaniel reluctantly abandoned the guys neck and settled for hitting him on the head, none too gently. I turned to take care of the other, when a familiar voice interrupted.

"What are you doing goofing off?"

The Plasma member jumped and flushed with embarrassment at being caught by Ghestis. "Nothing..." She muttered.

"Well, if you cannot fulfil your duties..."

The woman gulped. "R-right... well, I'll just grab my unconscious partner and we'll get going." She did as she said and ran out of there in record time, and when I turned back to the Munna, Ghestis was also gone. Another Pokémon floated up to the abused Munna and inspected it all over, running its nose over it to check for wounds.

"Aww... that's so cute!" Bianca exclaimed, and I jumped. I'd forgotten she was still there. The other Pokémon turned, noticed us, and began to charge up an attack. My own Pokémon formed a protective wedge in front of me, with Sachiel in the front, but the little Munna bumped the other Pokémon and started making noises to it. The other listened, and then relaxed. When the little Munna finished, the other looked at me, then floated up to me. I motioned my Pokémon to stand aside, and it looked up at me. I could see gratitude in its eyes. _My little one told me what you did, human._

I yelped, because I wasn't used to voices directly in my head.

The thing seemed amused. _She also told me of the death of your friend_. It motioned with a stubby little leg to Malayeka's body. _I am most sorry. She tells me that she was able to connect you two in your Purrloin's last moments... She is quite young to be doing such things._

"Thank you." I said to the little Munna, kneeling. She happily floated over and accepted my petting with glee on her face. "So you are able to connect people and Pokémon?" I asked her.

_Anything with anything else capable of rational thought. _The other said. _She is still too young to speak to you herself. And any, as you would say, "Pokémon" with psychic tendencies could do the same, provided it's old and powerful enough. But we must be going, there are people coming soon. You would do well to go, too. Farewell._ The Munna squealed and waved a stubby leg at me, and followed her parent. I turned to Bianca, who was staring, and told her we should go. She followed me without complaint deep into the woods before she stopped me.

"Were you _talking _to that thing?" she asked.

"...Yes." I said. "But I can't talk to all Pokémon..."

"Wow!" she gushed. "You're just so _cool! _I'm going to go and befriend a Pokémon and travel around so I can be like you!"

I turned and stared at her, a little openmouthed. "...No." I finally managed.

She pouted. "Why not, you're doing it."

"Because Pokémon are _dangerous,_ Bianca. Even to me. I think..." Here I knelt and started scratching behind Sachiel's ears because he was asking for it. "I think the only reason some Pokémon decide to come with me- and they always decide to come with me, not the other way around- is because I raised this little guy" I patted Sachiel's head and he chirped. "basically from birth." I finished. Then I stood up and said, "Now, I'll lead you back to the road and you stay on it, because I seriously don't want to be responsible for your maiming or death by Pokémon. And you won't tell anyone about me. Deal?"

She begrudgingly agreed, and I led her back to the path. Then, after a last word of caution, I vanished into the woods to bury Malayeka.

I re-emerged onto the path and walked for a while, my Pokémon following along in the woods beside me, then stopped as I heard hurried footsteps behind me, the faint sound of 50's jazz approaching, and Cheren calling, "Leigh, stop!" I turned to see Cheren coming to a stop in front of me, headphones around his neck. "I need to talk to you about what happened in the abandoned park." he said, in a low voice. "I'm not here to arrest you." he added quickly as I started to panic. "I just want to tell you that I'll be watching you."

"Okay, that's not creepy sounding at all." I said, dryly. "But I understand. Is this official or just you?"

"It's official." He said. "Oh, and about the park- sorry about that, but when the kid came in saying you had Pokémon, the chief of the town jumped to the conclusion that you were Plasma before I could correct him."

"Oh. Okay then."

"Alright, I have one last question for you."

"Shoot." I said warily.

"Can I..." he trailed off and jerked his head towards the forest.

"Wha- Oh. Sure, so long as you don't come too close." I said. I proceeded into the woods, Cheren close behind, and whistled lowly.

Four shapes bounded toward me, three that I knew, and one that was unfamiliar, a horselike animal with lightning-shaped stripes. It approached me cautiously, eyes wary. Then it offered its head to me, and I gently petted it, scratching behind the ears and under its jaw. Its eyes closed in happiness, and I said, "So I'm guessing you want to come with me."

"Wha-" Cheren said, then cut himself off as the little thing stepped back and nodded its head, gracefully.

I smiled, looked at its stripes, and said, "In that case, I think I'll call you Ramiel." It nodded its head again, and came back for more petting. I laughed.

"Do they talk back?" Cheren asked.

"Yes, but I can't understand them unless they use gestures like that." I said. "Though, I've been told that Pokémon with psychic abilities can connect people and Pokémon mentally so they understand each other fully." I shrugged.

Cheren was about to say something when he suddenly stopped and looked down. I laughed as I saw Sachiel tugging his pant leg trying to get him to pick him up. "That's Sachiel. He wants you to pick him up." I said. Cheren awkwardly hoisted the little otter up and Sachiel promptly climbed to sit on his shoulders. I laughed at Cheren's stunned expression. "I've raised Sachiel since he was very very small, so he isn't as shy or mistrusting of humans as other Pokémon. His mama attacked my village and I ran into the woods, and he found me lost in there and led me back home. I took him in and cared for him and he protected me from other Pokémon." I pointed to my rat, who was chittering angrily at Nathaniel, who held a berry teasingly out of Engelbert's reach. "That's Engelbert, and the monkey who's teasing him is Nathaniel. Nathaniel, give Engelbert back his berry." I reprimanded. Nathaniel pouted, but gave Engelbert the berry, which he snatched back and scarfed down quickly to make sure it wasn't taken again. Cheren chuckled a little at that, then put Sachiel down and said, "Well, I should probably get going."

"Hmkay. I'll accompany you back to the road so you don't get attacked."

He nodded, and we walked together in silence until we were back on the road.


	7. Afriel, Angel of Youth

**Hello everyone! So I decided that I will, indeed, put music here XD I'm only going to be ably to provide you with song titles and artists, though, because my internet is bad . oh well! SO the first song I will put here is "Heist" by Lindsey Stirling. It has the right upbeat, awesome tone to go with the beginning here, but has little, softer breaks that go with the tender moments too :)**

**OshawottStream gets love for being a follower. 3**

**Review for love, hope, and chocolate :3!**

We had just emerged from the forest when two Plasmas ran into us, running away from Striaton like their lives depended upon it. Cheren and I glanced at each other, and immediately began chasing them. We followed them along the route until we rounded a corner just in time to see them duck into a cave. I whistled and my little friends came bounding out of the forest to precede us into the cave. When Cheren and I got there, my Pokémon had surrounded the Plasma members, and were keeping them where they were for me.

"Now, just where do you think you're going?" Cheren drawled lazily, casually reaching for the cuffs.

"Anywhere but here!" One of them said. I saw that his jacket was wiggling. "Nathaniel!" I called, and he, having noticed the same thing, lept at him. The guy's eyes widened in panic and he yelled, "Patrat, go!"

The Patrat intercepted Nathaniel and they rolled on the floor, fur and claws flying. As they fought, my eyes flicked anxiously from the Plasma member to the two Pokémon battling, not wanting to let either one out of my sight. I remembered far too well what had happened the last time I'd gotten distracted from a fight, and was determined that it wouldn't happen again.

The fight ended with the Plasma guy's Patrat dead on the ground, Nathaniel, hurt but still standing. As he turned to return to my side, however, he took a step, wobbled dangerously, and then collapsed. That's when I noticed that not all the blood in the area they'd been fighting in was his opponent's.

I ran over to Nathaniel, praying fervently that he wasn't hurt as badly as he looked, but as I came closer, it became apparent that he was hurt far, far worse than I had thought. He was cut and bruised all over, his blood and his opponent's blood staining his fur a dark, sticky red. His eyes were shut and I couldn't see him breathing. Panicking, I knelt and, hands shaking, felt for a pulse, and then tried to see if he was still breathing. I let out a shaky sigh of relief when the answer was yes for both, if barely. Quickly, I got out the bandages and medicines I'd gotten and started gently patching him up whilst Cheren cuffed the Plasma member. Then I fashioned a sling out of my jacket to carry Nathaniel in, gently placed him in it, then stood up, slowly, so as not to bump him unduly. At this point, Cheren had cuffed the other one.

"Cheren, this one has something under his jacket. I saw it moving."

He looked at the first Plasma member just as whatever it was wiggled again. "Well that explains why you attacked him, seemingly with no provocation." he muttered, then turned to the Plasma member. "Let's just have a look, shall we?" he said, reaching for the zipper on the guy's jacket. I caught his wrist and said, "Maybe it's best if I open the jacket?"

He considered this for a moment, and then nodded, stepping back. I stepped forward and unzipped the jacket.

To my surprise, a rock fell out of it, and then squeaked and tried to curl up into a ball. I immediately knelt and started murmuring to it soothingly, gently petting it, though I wasn't sure if it could feel my petting.

"Leigh, I've got backup coming. It might be best if you left."

I looked up. "Okay..." then I looked down at the little Pokémon (it couldn't be anything else, though I couldn't imagine what it had mutated from to end up looking like a rock) wondering if Cheren needed to keep it for evidence or something, because it was so obviously scared that I wasn't sure if I was okay with that.

"Hm, well I thought saw this one's jacket move, so I unzipped it and what looked like a little rock fell out of it, but it ran off too fast for me to be sure." Cheren said, half-smiling. I grinned back, gently picked up the little thing, being careful of Nathaniel in the sling, and left the cave, still petting and crooning to the quaking rock.

Once I made it well away from the cave and into the woods, the little rock had stopped shaking in fear and was now, for lack of a better word, purring: making a rumbling noise like the sound of a very quiet engine idling and vibrating ever so slightly. I knelt, put the purring rock down, and gently took off the sling and set Nathaniel down while I fashioned something that would be a little more convenient for me whilst still being comfortable for him. In the end, I took a Totoro backpack out of my bigger backpack (I'd put it in there a while ago, intending to give it to a friend or something, and had never taken it out, and since I hadn't used my backpack since then, I'd forgotten it was there) I hesitated to put Nathaniel in there because he might get jostled or wake up and freak out. Engelbert seemed to understand, and he gestured first to Nathaniel, then himself, then the backpack. It took me several repetitions to figure out what he was trying to say.

"You'll stay with Nathaniel in the backpack to make sure he doesn't get jostled too much or freak out if he wakes up?"

Engelbert nodded enthusiastically, squeaking happily. "Okay, I'm going to put him in first, then you, but not right now. I need a bit of a break." Engelbert nodded, and went to sit beside Nathaniel. I was about to stand up from my squatting position when the little rock from earlier ran over to me, jumping up and down in place like an enthusiastic child. I laughed and remarked, "Well I don't suppose you want to come with me at all." The little thing wilted, sitting down and hunching over pitifully. I chuckled. "That was something called sarcasm, little one. It's when someone says something, but use a certain tone of voice to indicate that they mean the opposite." The rock immediately jumped back to its feet, bouncing excitedly on the balls of its feet, if that was even the correct term for that. I chuckled again and said, "You can come along if you like. I think I'll call you Afriel." Afriel jumped happily a couple of times, then ran over to where my other Pokémon were gathered, squeaking joyfully. I grinned, then stood, stretching and looking around for a comfortable place to sit. Eventually I settled on sitting with my back resting on a tree trunk, my left leg bent, right leg straight, left arm resting on my left knee and my right arm resting on my right thigh. I tilted my head back, resting it on the tree, and closed my eyes, enjoying the sun on my face and the warmth of the day.


	8. Charmeine, Angel of Harmony

p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"strongspan style="background: transparent"A/N: Hello, hello, hello, what have we here? It seems I have another follower! Welcome to the party... supersexyghotmew95! Gosh, that's quite the username! Anyways, you all aren't here to read my ramblings, so I'll just send ALL THE LOVE to my followers, remind you to review for freedom, beauty, truth, love, and candy, and go on with the story!/span/strong/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"I must have been more tired than I'd realized, because I drifted off under the tree, the sounds of the forest lulling me to sleep, and the warmth of the day the only blanket I needed. /span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"When I woke up, it was evening and it had cooled down considerably. My Pokémon were all resting, curled up around me for warmth. I smiled softly, then gently woke them up, one by one, then checked on Nathaniel. He was still not conscious, but I hadn't really expected him to be, not with the injuries he'd sustained, but he seemed to be stable, if not slightly better. I stood and stretched, carefully working out the knots in my shoulders that I'd gotten from sleeping whilst sitting up, then got everything ready to go. Once I'd gotten everything else put in order, Engelbert got into the pack with Nathaniel and I gently pulled it onto my back. Now ready to face whatever was thrown into my path, I started moving towards Nacrene./span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"I was halfway to Nacrene when I heard the faint sound of 50s jazz approaching and my name being called. I stopped, half-turning and half-smiling as Cheren jogged to catch up to me. "I just wanted to thank you for your help back there." He said, panting a little. "You helped a bunch by taking out his Pokémon; we still haven't come up with an effective and safe way of dealing with them." /span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent""span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"No problem, Cheren. You're kinda doing me a favor by giving me the benefit of the doubt, I figured I'd help you with Plasma. Plus, they rub me the wrong way." I said with a sour look. /span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"He sighed and said, "Trust me, they rub everyone the wrong way, in more ways than one." He checked his watch and said, with perhaps a hint of regret in his voice, "Well, I need to get back, so I'll see you later, Leigh." He turned and started walking back, and I looked after him, thoughtfully. Then, shaking my head, I continued on my way to Nacrene./span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"The days were starting to turn cold and crisp as I walked into Nacrene, fall giving way to winter. I ventured to the store to get much-needed supplies, then checked out the surrounding area./span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"As I walked in the forest that I'd found out was on the other side of Nacrene, a paw tapped my shoulder, and I gently removed the Totoro backpack and set it down so I could see what Engelbert wanted. I was greeted with the sight of Nathaniel stirring, his eyes half-open, and Engelbert peeking out of the bag. I smiled softly. "Hi, Nathaniel. That Patrat sure did a number on you, didn't it? You shouldn't move too much, just in case, but so long as you don't do too much and you rest, you should heal just fine."/span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"Nathaniel chattered weakly, and I reached down and petted him, making sure to scratch behind his ears. Making sounds of contentment, Nathaniel closed his eyes and his voice slowly died away as he drifted off to a true sleep. I sighed happily, glad that I had some sign that he would get better, then gently picked the backpack back up and continued exploring./span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"I had barely wandered into the forest proper when I saw a plethora of Plasdorks. Since there were easily ten or so and I hadn't been noticed, I promptly did the sensible thing, which was turning right around and leaving their vicinity as quickly and quietly as possible./span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"Once out of the forest and the danger zone, I slowed down and realized there was something sitting on my foot and vibrating slightly. I looked down, expecting Afriel, but an unknown Pokémon sat there. I frowned, sat, and carefully removed its vicelike little grip on my ankle. "And just what might you be, little one?" I asked it rhetorically, studying the round little thing. It looked like a tadpole... sort of? That was the only thing I could really think of to compare it to. As I studied it, I realized that it wasn't just vibrating, it was making noise, and the noise rose and fell like a song. "Are you singing, little one?" I asked it idly, and was rewarded with a particularly happy sounding fillip in the tune and a nod. I smiled. "You'd like to come with me?"/span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"Another happy fillip and a more enthusiastic nod, the little thing almost bouncing from how hard it was nodding. I laughed. "That settles that, then. Your name's Charmeine." /span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"She put an inquisitory sound into her song and cocked her head at me, the song now sounding expectant. I chuckled. "You're a curious one, aren't you? Well, Charmeine means "Angel of Harmony", which fits you very well, since you sing all the time." I tickled her and the song sounded like giggles as Charmeine fell onto her back, wriggling and smiling. After tickling her for a while, I let her go and get aquainted with the others whilst I checked on Nathaniel. In the days it'd taken to get to Nacrene he'd improved considerably , but he was still weak, and was in no condition to fight or even walk for very long. I hoped to God that I wouldn't get attacked here like I was last time, because, although I had six companions, one was Nathaniel, and most of the others weren't really used to me or each other yet. We had trained some, but not nearly enough./span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Calibri;"span style="font-size: 11pt"span style="background: transparent"I sighed, and, looking at the darkening sky, decided to bed down for the night, and maybe get some more training done with the newbies. Looking towards the large city, and back to where I'd seen the Plasmas, I amended that thought. emA lot more training, and not just for the newbies. Everyone needs to be at peak form, just in case.../em I didn't really want to finish that thought. Whatever I finished it with, what I actually encountered was bound to be worse./span/span/span/span/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"strongspan style="line-height: 12px;"A/N: Hey, I'm back! I decided to put the music stuff down here so that you didn't have to scroll past it to get to the real reason why you're here. So, I have two songs today! The first goes with most of the actual update you see here, "Holiday Club" by Jim and the Povolos (or pretty much any of the four songs on their Holiday Club EP). The chill tone and harmonies and all just go with the chill (and cute in places) nature of most of this update. Nothing crazy, just a girl and her Pokémon on a walk :) The second fits what I actually did when writing this update, and that is grinding like hell on trainers. There were so many close calls, it felt like I was actually in an epic fight! I was flipping out so much, I feel like "Hawks Serpents" by The Sword fits that particularly well. But that's fighting music and don't fit with most of the actual update I turned out, just the end and what I was actually doing, so ^_^; you get two! This is really long, so I'll sign off with: So long, and thanks for all the fish!/span/strong/p 


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